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Aidan Hanger
UWRT 1103
15 Nov. 2019

WRITING THEORY ESSAY

1. Rhetorical Knowledge is an understanding of the literary devices used to influence

how an audience feels or reacts to a text. An articulate writer is able to understand which
rhetorical devices his or her writing requires to elicit their desired response from the
audience. This rhetorical situation is determined by what genre the writer is writing for,
who the intended audience is, and what they want their audience to take away from the
text. An articulate writer is also able to identify and understand how these devices are
used in others’ writing.

Inquiry Proposal:

Podcast Script:
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In my inquiry proposal, I realized that the audience wouldn’t understand what

“blended learning” was, so I included more information to define blended learning and
help my audience understand why blended learning in higher education was an idea that
was worth researching. In the excerpt from my podcast script, I completely changed the
presentation of my thesis subtopic about flexibility given by blended learning. This is
because the podcast was of a different genre from my academic writing and was meant to
reach a larger audience. The devices I used —a conversational tone and words such as
“obvious”— engaged the podcast audience by making me seem relatable, something I did
not have to consider in the thesis.

2. Critical Reading is an ability to analyze a given text. An articulate writer uses critical
reading to understand how an author proves their point in a text by identifying the
author’s main argument, analyzing the evidence they use to support the argument, and
determining the credibility of the author. An articulate writer would also use critical
reading to determine whether the sources the author uses for evidence are credible. A
writer who is able to read critically would understand the areas where an author uses
logical fallacies, and how that may undermine the author’s argument.

“‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’ Analysis”:

This was my critical reading of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham
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Jail.” In the excerpt shown, I analyze how King uses the voices of other famous
historical figures, ranging from St. Thomas Aquinas to Adolf Hitler, to build his own
argument. I tried to understand how each individual voice was used, which would help
me understand why King would choose to quote or reference that particular individual.
In order to do this, I first identified how the historical figures enhanced King’s argument.

“Applying the Rhetorical Situation and Appeals”:

In this assignment, I analyzed how commercials utilize rhetoric to convince the

audience to take some kind of action. The commercial I chose to analyze was a
commercial for the national guard. I was able to identify how the commercial’s use of
pathos makes the audience think of the National Guard as heroic, with the ethos of being
a part of the military furthering the commercial’s goal of inspiring people to enlist.
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3. Knowledge of Conventions is an understanding of the basic rules of formatting and

organization, along with knowledge of what information is best to use when writing
different kinds of texts. An articulate writer would use knowledge of conventions to
format his or her writing correctly, utilizing indentation, correct margins, and proper
citation in his or her text. An articulate writer would also use the correct voice for
different texts. For instance, a writer with knowledge of conventions would use a formal,
logical voice when giving a scientific report and a conversational, emotional voice when
writing a commercial. An articulate writer would understand basic grammar, spelling
and punctuation.

ITSC-1600 Passion Memo:

This assignment was done for ITSC-1600 Careers in Computer Science. In this
assignment, I had to write about my passion in computer science and present it in the
format of a business memo. The top shows who it is addressed to, who it is from, and
what the subject of the memo is. Each section of the memo is subdivided by topic,
starting with a summary of the whole memo. I also utilized a citation format different
from MLA. The memo’s format is used more in scientific and business writing.
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Thesis Final Draft Works Cited Page:

This is a screenshot of my Thesis’s works cited page. The citations utilize proper
MLA formatting, starting with the hanging indent. They are alphabetized by last names,
and each citation starts with the authors’ names. Since each source was found online, the
citations all feature the source’s DOI or URL and the date they were accessed.
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Early Draft:

This is part of the early draft I created. In order to effectively plan my paper, I
decided to use the detailed outline format to map out how the thesis would be written.
The outline is written according to the set standards. Each major subtopic in the thesis is
delineated with a Roman numeral, while the supporting arguments for these subtopics are
indented and marked with a capital letter. The supporting points for these arguments are
further indented and marked with a number. By using this format, I was able to clearly
organize the information I had found into a coherent flow of ideas.

4. The Composing Process is the process a writer follows to develop their ideas into a
text. An articulate writer would start the composing process by thinking about their main
argument and collecting all their thoughts and collected information into a plan. They
would then write their first draft. Then, they would edit that draft into a more polished
final draft. However, an articulate writer would also understand that the composing
process is nonlinear and would possibly scrap their draft to return to the planning phase,
or go back to the writing phase to add new sections that strengthen the final draft.
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Early Draft:

Removed Counterexample Section:

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First Draft:

These screenshots show the development of my counterexample paragraph. The top

screenshot is my outline of the counterexample paragraph. The second screenshot shows
a section I removed from my counterexample before finishing my first draft. My thesis
centered around how students are affected by blended learning, so I thought that a
counterexample point focusing on professors was extraneous. Thus, I removed that
section of my counterexample from my original draft. The draft I submitted for peer
review is shown in the last screenshot.

5. Critical Reflection is the ability of a writer to look at their own writing and analyze it.
An articulate writer uses critical reflection to determine how well they have written one
of their own texts. They could use it during the revision process to find weak points in
their argument or places where they should refer back to conventions in order to make
their writing clearer. They could also use critical reflection to determine what they
should do or could do better in future writings. Overall, an articulate writer uses critical
reflection to improve their own skill as a writer.
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Final Draft Reflection:

Final Draft with Revised Counterargument:

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During the peer review phase of the writing process, I realized that much of my
audience wanted to know whether cheating was a possible flaw in the blended learning
style. I talked about this in the reflection that I presented with my final draft. To address
this issue, I did more research on the specific issue of cheating in blended learning. The
information I found allowed me to create a second counterargument paragraph that
specifically addressed the issue. Using critical reflection ultimately made my thesis
stronger by addressing a potential flaw in my argument.